The Paranoia about making sure one’s children are safe has gone through the roof since the 1980’s. From what I can understand about our parents’ generation is that their childhood was a whole lot different than what ours was today. As children go from pre-school to high school, we are forced to take the bus, yet all our parents seem to have war-like stories about walking to school and getting beat up or something along the way. The stories they speak about come from a time where parents didn’t have much supervision over their children either because they were working all the time or trusted their children to return by suppertime. Now, times have changed regarding child safety, but how is it reflecting on the issue of child abduction rates? …show more content…
Has forcing children to never talk to strangers and restricting them from engaging in their own unsupervised activities actually hindered their safety? The overall effect that the internet has had on child safety regarding abductions has both had a role in stopping child abductions, but also making it worse. For example, children can talk to strangers online through chat rooms and meet with people that can abduct them, while there are special task forces that make fake profiles to catch certain predators that prey on young innocent children. I will analyze multiple journal articles that speak about new implementations to secure child safety from abductors, the change of the parental perspective, and the statistics behind child abduction into and out of the United States of America. The journal article that I will be analyzing is called “The Overprotected Kid” by Hannaa Rosin.
Throughout her article she explains that if we protect our children too much and literally shield them from the outside world, it will harm their growth as an individual and possibly make them equal to or more vulnerable than a child who wasn’t supervised as much. Rosin illustrates this by using the example of “The Land”, which is a playground that is at the far end of a quiet housing development in North Wales that lets children go and adventure on their own with other children while being unsupervised. To even let a kid today go to a playground like this that lets kids start fires and play in dangerous/unsafe structures is unheard of. For example, Rosin states that “It’s hard to absorb how much childhood norms have shifted in just one generation. Actions that would have been considered paranoid in the ’70s—walking third-graders to school, forbidding your kid to play ball in the street, going down the slide with your child in your lap—are now routine.” It’s obvious that child abductions are responsible for this paranoia among parents because lost/missing children began appearing on milk cartons and news channels everywhere, which caused mass hysteria. The one story that really made this cultural shift happen was the case of Etan Patz who was picked off the street by a stranger and was missing for hours, then days, then years. This made mothers and fathers frightened that their …show more content…
child could have the same fate of Etan Patz. Due to the increasing knowledge of child abduction cases in America, parents see that kids are getting snatched off the streets, which causes parents to react and shift their perspective to a whole new approach to child safety. “In a short period of time, Americans came to think child molestations were very prevalent. Over time, the fear drove a new parenting absolute: children were never to talk to strangers.”(Rosin 2014). Again, this parenting perspective is a good way to protect your children because a lot of predators like to lure children to them with gifts, candy, puppies, claiming they’re a relative, etc. Another thing to tell your kids if someone approaches them and tries to take them is to scream and run the other way. It is proven that this is the best way to make an offender leave the area quickly so he or she doesn’t get caught. Additionally, child safety regarding public spaces such as playgrounds were facing scrutiny after several lawsuits over faulty equipment. Rosin (2014) “Today, these playgrounds are so out of sync with affluent and middle-class parenting norms that when I showed fellow parents back home a video of kids crouched in the dark lighting fires, the most common sentence I heard from them was “This is insane.” (Working-class parents hold at least some of the same ideals, but are generally less controlling—out of necessity, and maybe greater respect for toughness.)”. Overall, children that grow up being overprotected tend to try even more dangerous activities when they are unsupervised so it’s necessary to make sure your child has time to be unsupervised so that he or she can feel like an individual and figure things out by themselves. Because some playgrounds now aren’t fun for children, they seek thrills in other places that aren’t good and could lead them down the wrong paths (drugs, violence, etc). Unfortunately, “In the real world, life is filled with risks—financial, physical, emotional, social—and reasonable risks are essential for children’s healthy development” (Rosin 2014). Parents sue playgrounds for certain hazards that end up injuring their children even though there are signs warning parents of the hazards. Parents like to blame other people for things that hurt their children when it was their own ignorance that blinded their perspective. I would say that getting hurt/injured is a learning experience that is designed to test your limits so that he or she can learn and adapt to challenges. In terms of correctly parenting your children about the dangers of child abduction one must come to terms that it’s possible a child could be abducted, but it’s not likely.
One must teach their kids about the dangers of strangers and what to look for and how to respond if a stranger approaches them. Children must be able to become individuals as children and not be overprotected because it can shield them from learning and adapting to the real world. Overprotecting a child can not only hinder their social skills, but could also affect them mentally. Rosin states that “the real cultural shift has to come from parents. There is a big difference between avoiding major hazards and making every decision with the primary goal of optimizing child safety (or enrichment, or happiness). We can no more create the perfect environment for our children than we can create perfect children. To believe otherwise is a delusion, and a harmful one; remind yourself of that every time the panic rises” (Rosin 2014). Our society is a dangerous one in which precautions must be put into place especially to keep the children safe. Rosin is trying to explain to readers that by overprotecting your children, it stops them from figuring out things they didn’t know about. The overall idea about adventure and doing things by yourself is to learn and adapt. If a child is not able to experience certain activities with little to no supervision, then it will leave them at risk down the road. Children’s
independent mobility is at an all-time low, compared to the 1970’s-1980 when it was at an all-time high. If children have more independence they may inoculate themselves from future adult phobias (scared of heights, insects, etc.) and be able to face problems easier.
Also, children are more likely to be abducted by someone they know rather than someone they do not know. According to Jackson (2007), young children are likely to be abducted by someone they know because they are less likely to resist or verbally protest (p.523). Children are the last line of defense for abduction; however, children who are taught refusal skills can help prevent the abduction. Teaching about safety and security is a very important aspect of the program. Got 2B safe gave teachers the opportunity to provide their students with a positive and empowering lesson about personal safety. Children are dependent on adult figures for care; unfortunately, in a negative way, this exposes them to abduction. With the support and dedication of Honeywell, Peppercom, and other anti-abduction campaigns, educators have been given more time and resources to put an emphasis on child abduction
The expansion of the Internet infrastructure across the world, has brought an increased audience. Which has provided expanded markets for businesses and exploited new opportunities. There are virtually countless social sites and media used by individuals to access and share experiences , content, insights, and perspectives. Parents today tend to believe they should spy on their kids online activity. I argue parents should respect the privacy of a child's social life and his/her internet activity.
Indeed, the safety of children is the main purpose of this article, so he provided us with a series of studies to confirm his argument. For example, some psychologists have shown the pattern: A child who’s hurt in a fall before the age of 9 is less likely as a teenager to have a fear of heights. They believe that if the children are allowed to go outside their safety zone, they will learn how to accept obstacles as well as hard situations. They will be stronger and more willing to confront new challenges as time goes by. Moreover, Dr. Ball said. “If children and parents believe they are in an environment which is safer than it actually is, they will take more risks." And a real example, Nayelis Serrano, a 10-year-old from the South Bronx, she used to play jungle gyms. Her experience about that game is so wonderful. She was scared it at first, but she kept continuing to the top of bar, and she won. She said. “I’d like to see it in our playground. Why not? It’s kind of dangerous, I know, but if you just think about danger you’re never going to get ahead in life.”
...ed that between 1976 and 1994 almost 37,000 children had been murdered (Child Victimizers iv). This appalling number would have been timely enough to include in Culture of Fear, a book which was written in 1997. In fact, the Department of
It is the parents’ responsibility to guide their children in all of their activities. If parents fail to guide their children, or even go so far as to arm them, then parents are just as liable for the tragic end results as the video game developer who ‘taught’ the child to shoot a gun or a musician who told the child to “go kill yourself,” in a song lyric. Parents must realize that they are the most influential people in their child’s life from the day the child is born. It is up to the parents to try to teach their child the difference between fantasy and reality; how to interpret theatrics meant to sell tickets; how to interpret the true meaning behind seemingly violent content in their entertainment.
In the twenty first century statistics have proven that stranger abductions are feared most by parents but rarely happen, and the number one abduction that occurs is, parental abduction. “Over 800,000 children are reported missing in the United States each year. Child abduction is a tragedy that devastates parents and touches all of us,” writes Jenny Wanderscheid in her online article. The United States has feared abductions for over decades, but many people misjudge the stereotypical “abduction”.
Steidel, S.(Ed.). (2000). Missing and Abducted Children: A Law Enforcement Guide to Case Investigation and Program Management. Washington, D.C.: OJJDP
In modern Western countries, adults take the responsibility of managing children’ behaviours, activities and the environment as protecting children from significant injuries. Also, parents are likely to pay more attention to protect their children from external injuries such as traffic accidents, stranger’s dangerous, personal accidents and other factors (Wyver et al., 2010, p.264). Under these kinds of protections, children lose many opportunities for free play and lead to the increase of childhood obesity as well as inactivity health issues (Wyver et al., 2010, p. 263). Beside the protection from parents, the features in the childhood environment are less risky for children to play with. For example, some Western countries such as the United Kingdom uses the rubber playground to reduce the rates of children injuries (Wyver et al., 2010, p. 265). The surplus safety from both parents and environment minimises children’s chances and experiences of encountering risks. In some way, the surplus safety infringes children’s right of play and silences their voices on their lives. Wyver et al. (2010, p. 263) argue that the surplus safety is negative to children from both legitimate anger and child development anger. Surplus safety may not substantially build the child-friendly
“Any person who shall unlawfully confine, restrain, or remove any person without consent from one place to another shall be guilty of kidnapping” (N.D., n.d.). Kidnapping is a current issue happening in the United States and the justice system is doing the most it can to apprehend and discipline kidnappers. To commit the act of kidnapping is a serious felony offense that could result in a prison sentence of 20 or more years. Children kidnapped by a stranger is very rare, but when it happens it can be a very horrific event for families and even communities. Back in 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted by Philip and Nancy Garrido for 18 years until she had been freed in August 2009. During her time kidnaped she had been frequently raped and impregnated twice which resulted in two daughters. Although Dugard’s case is considered extremely rare, it was a traumatic event that has been noted as one of the top kidnapping cases
Wells, Karen C.. "rescuing children and children's rights." Childhood in a global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009. 168-169. Print.
Palmer, S. (2006). Toxic Childhood: how the modern world is damaging our children and what we can do about it . London: Orion Books Ltd.
... different concept and hostility is a common environment. Bringing children to life in this era is far much more complicated than what it used to be, and parenting has become an exhausting and tough job. Being a parent in this time means having to be EXTRA-careful with what your child is exposed to these days, means taking the time to explain and correct them from all the wrong concepts of values they have learned from TV. It is in our hand to change this world for the better, we have to raise our voices and fight against the media and all these things they are causing in our children. The hostility of our world not only affects children, because adults are affected too, but our children are the men and women of tomorrow, and for that we have the responsibility to guide them, to teach them, and to make their learning and development environment as safe as it can be.
According to statistic provided with Council for Anti-Trafficking Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (MAPO), 118 cases of child kidnapping were reported on February 2008 and 0ctober 2010 in Malaysia. This report shown that child kidnapping had widespread. Parents should always play their role and implement some ways to keep the children’s safety. There is three ways to minimize the risk of child kidnapping, which is educate their children stay away from strangers (Zuraneeza Zulkifli, 2013; Murphy,2014; Johnston, J.R,2001) ; educate their children to protect themselves (Canadian Centre for Child Protection,2011; Georgia K. Hilgeman,1999; Murphy,2014) ; and enrol self-defends class (Andrea K Clark,2013) and choose caregivers who can put trust (Janet R. Johnston et al, 2011)
Kids’ of many ages have their lives taken away. Kids don’t understand how bad the world is and don’t understand how easy it is to be kidnapped. Some adults don’t take enough time to care and tend to their children and knowing where they go throughout the day. Parents need to communicate and teach children right from wrong and what to do in a situation such as kidnapping. People that regularly see the family around town or neighbors need to report straight away if something suspicious is going on such as a child disappearing from a family. Some people could pay families to take the victim as for slavery.
Each year data is collected by many government agencies, both national and local, in an attempt to better understand and ultimately prevent cases of child abuse. A report published by the Children’s Bureau titled Child Maltreatment, in 2014 reflected that, children that had yet to experience their first birthday had the highest rate of victimization at 24.4 per 1,000 children of the same age in the national population (p 12). Abuse is never acceptable, but it is extremely alarming that an age group that relies so heavily on an adult for basic needs would be so greatly represented. Perhaps though the information becomes slight more understandable when we see that the Children’s Bureau also reported that 75% of victims were subjected to neglect